Twitter Gets Pushy And Personal

New feature will push notifications to your mobile app when it finds interesting people or content. Here's how to turn it on and off.

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Twitter is launching a new push notification feature for official Twitter mobile apps that sends you personalized recommendations when multiple people in your network follow the same user or retweet the same message.

The new feature is based on Twitter's experimental @magicrecs account, a bot that uses algorithms to send users personalized recommendations for new accounts to follow and interesting content via direct messages. Twitter launched the account six months ago.

Twitter's Venu Satuluri, who helped build the @magicrecs account, said that Twitter decided to bring this feature to more users after receiving an abundance of positive feedback. "Over time, we've been tweaking algorithms -- based on engagement and your feedback -- in order to send only the most relevant updates," he said.

According to Satuluri, Twitter for Android and Twitter for iPhone users will start to receive push notifications with these new recommendations. The @magicrec Twitter account will remain active, according to a tweet from the account, and followers will continue to receive direct messages instead of notifications.

This is the latest addition to Twitter's robust set of notification options. You can choose to receive emails, for example, when your tweets are marked as favorites, when someone retweets you and when you receive new followers and direct messages. Twitter also sends weekly email digests by default, showcasing the top tweets and stories from your followers and activity updates from your network.

Twitter's new notifications are mobile-based. If you would like to receive notifications on your device, you need to enable push notifications in your Twitter app settings, or attach a phone number to your account for updates via SMS.

To enable push notifications from an official Twitter app, start by opening the application. Tap the "Me" tab and then select "Settings." Then tap on your account and select "Notifications" under your account settings. Find the type of notification you'd like to receive, and swipe "ON."

Some of these notifications may be switched on by default. To disable any notifications you don't want to receive, swipe the notification to "OFF." Many of these notification options also let you select who you'd like to receive those notifications from.

If you'd rather receive notifications via SMS, log into your Twitter account and visit your mobile settings page. You must already have a phone number attached to your account. Check the boxes for the types of notifications you want texted to you and click "Save changes" at the bottom. You can choose to be notified when someone direct messages you, when you receive a new follower, when your tweet is marked as a favorite and more.

If you're already overwhelmed with Twitter emails, check your email notifications page and opt out accordingly. You can find this by clicking on the gear icon at the top of your account and choosing "Settings" from the list.

I find it hard to believe there was an abundance of positive feedback on something that pushes notifications to a mobile phone. For me, that would be a battery drain. Unlike Facebook, however, it is good to know you can disable it from happening in the first place. You can't disable ads from your news feed in Facebook.